


Abandoned in the End

by Vesuvian_American



Category: The Arcana (Visual Novel)
Genre: Angst, Bad Ending, Unhappy Ending
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-18
Updated: 2020-07-26
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:07:49
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,195
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25351381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Vesuvian_American/pseuds/Vesuvian_American
Summary: The Apprentice becomes the Devil to save their friends but find that their old friends cant trust them and must bind the Apprentice to the Devil's Realm as a safety precaution.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	1. Peace Lily

**Author's Note:**

> I hope this was good, I tried to imply at some parts that the Devil was speaking through the Apprentice or at least influencing their words. Making them sound harsher or feel angrier than they really meant to. Especially towards the end. <3

There was a flash of blinding light. The last thing you remember seeing was all of your friends joining hands. Before you could think to react and guard your eyes you were caught, arms closed in around yourself as you were lassoed by a golden rope and tied up. In that very instant, it dawned on you. They were binding you to your realm, ever since you became the Devil they weren’t the same. They didn’t trust you. They were afraid of you. When you regained your vision and your wits an overwhelming sense of rage and despair washed over you. You couldn’t believe what was happening. 

“What... What are you doing to me?” You said, more venom to your voice than you had intended. They flinched back from your voice; cracks spread up the crimson walls as you tried to control your temper. 

“You can’t leave this place. I’m sorry.” Asra said as he inched closer to you, sadness in his eyes. The rest of your friends watched warily from a distance, afraid. 

You were at a loss for words, not noticing how your body writhed and fought against these binds. You couldn’t think straight, how dare they. You became the Devil to save them, to save the world. They intended to leave you here, after all you did. Inhuman grunts and snarls melted from your mouth as you tried to free yourself. 

Muriel looked at you with pleading eyes and moved forward to stand next to Asra. “Please. Stop fighting.” The bags under his eyes showed just how weary he was. He was tired, fearful, desperate. 

“Muriel! Muriel, please! Please don’t leave me alone! I.. I can’t do it!” Begging might help. Muriel always had a soft spot for you after you got to know him. He couldn’t have agreed to this so easily. He shut his eyes and tensed up as you called to him. Breathing a shaky sigh, he put his heavy hand on Asra’s shoulder to pull him away from you. 

“No! Don’t leave, I’m okay! I’m still me! You know that. Right? Right, Portia! I’m still me!” She had tears in her eyes, and jumped when you mentioned her. She quickly slid behind Nadia’s back to hide. “D-don’t be afraid! You don’t have to leave Portia.” 

Nadia finally spoke. “Y/N please. We can’t risk you trying to leave. You’re being influenced by the Devil inside of you.” She placed her hand over her heart and swallowed dryly, and cleared her throat. “We’re sorry.” With that she turned away, ushering Portia under her arm and tried to walk out. 

“But! Nadia you would do the same thing!” You shouted, every froze. She turned and looked over her shoulder at you. “I did everything for you! Please don’t leave me! If you did this, I’d stay by you forever! I did this for you!” Had Nadia never ventured to your shop in the middle of the night you surely wouldn’t have been dragged into this mess you thought. Nadia’s cool façade melted away, but she couldn’t bring herself to respond. 

“Julian! Don’t you leave me! I need you.” You saw his throat bob, he was trembling violently. Large tears were already rolling down his pale skin. You hated seeing him so sad. His lip wobbles pathetically while he tries to find his words. His excuses. 

“Dammit. Don’t leave me alone. Asra. You can’t leave me again! What about the last time you abandoned me!” That sounded harsher than you meant, but this new form couldn’t help but seem spiteful and rude. His violet eyes flew wide open. He opened his mouth and lifted his fist to argue. Yet, in the end he stopped himself, biting hard down on his lips and shaking his head hard. 

“You didn’t mean that.” He spoke quietly to himself. “I love you Y/N. Goodbye.” Red tears rolled down your cheeks. You skin was hot to the touch and on contact, your tear fizzled and created steam. 

“No! Don’t go! Don’t you dare leave me! I did this for you! You all ruined me!” You screamed after them. If they weren’t going to stay you might as well tell them off as they left. You noticed Lucio was attempting to slip out with the rest of them without a single word. 

“You.” You growled. Hot air brushed against the back of his neck making all the blonde hair on his body stand on end. You saw the violent shiver travel up his body as he froze. The rest of the group noticing the atmosphere becoming increasingly oppressive. 

“How dare you! You heartless ingrate! You did this to me! If it weren’t for you being such a greedy human none of this would have happened.” You hissed; the room was shrouded in a veil of darkness. You couldn’t control the rage at this point. Your true self felt trapped inside of this body, while the Devil decided to let it all out. It hurt though, that your new voice seemed to speak your very thoughts. You hated yourself for feeling this way. You didn’t want to be alone but you wouldn’t speak to them like this if you had control. Visits could be possible, but you feared after this tirade, they’d be happy to forget about you. 

By now, he turned to face you. Tears sliding down his own face. He knew he was partially to blame, but before taking on the Devil you had truly forgiven him. Now you were just saying things to hurt his feelings. 

“This should be you, trapped in the Devil’s realm, corrupted and abandoned! Not me! You did this to me! This is your fault!” You screeched, your voice sounding more and more inhuman. “I was nothing but good to all of you, yet I still pull the short stick! After all I did, you’re all leaving me!” 

As sad as Nadia looked, she had the strength to turn her back on you one last time. She was the first to leave and everyone else quickly followed suite without another word. Without another look back. It was dawning on you that you would be alone like this forever. For a millennia, until the end of times and maybe even after that. Alone. 

“No! Don’t go!” You couldn’t stop your tears, your anger, your fear. Crimson flames spewed from your mouth, singing the floor where your friends once stood. All you could do for now was scream, wail, writhe around, make all the flames and demonic sounds you could but they were almost gone. You sensed they were close to leaving your realm. 

“I love you.” You whispered to yourself, in a last-ditch effort you wanted to at least tell them that. You wanted to leave things off with words you truly meant, words coming from the real you and not the Devil in your body. You reached out with your magic to tell them as much, that you loved them and your final goodbye. When you finally reached them, and was sure they'd all hear you, you spoke. 

“I hate you.”


	2. Spider Lily

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The main 6 are dragged back to the Devil's realm in the dead of night, never to escape.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> People asked for a part two and I was happy to indulge them! <333 Hope you enjoy!!

You weren’t sure how much time had passed since you last saw them in person. You could still feel them though, alive, far away in the other world. Moving on with their lives. You used your magic to check in on them, to watch them. However, each time you did you noticed they changed. They sensed you there, lurking, unwilling to leave them be. Their smiling faces would fall, shivers creeped up their spines, eyes darting around the room to catch a glimpse of you. Not because they missed you, not because they wanted to see you, but because they wished to avoid you at all costs. Turn the other way and run. 

Asra’s deck would scream at him to keep his guard up, immediately pulling his attention from whatever he was doing, whether it be spending time with Julian or tending to a customer. A part of you liked seeing him so spooked, another part, a repressed part ached. It yearned to reach out and comfort Asra, your lifelong friend. He doubled and tripled his protection spells, trying in vain to keep you at bay. You’d bring him back to you eventually, whether it be this life or the next. 

Nadia’s headaches returned with your presence, her sixth sense sniffing you out immediately. She was uneasy but she always asked you to leave. She was annoyed, she hated you now and that hurt. If she wasn’t too preoccupied, she’d leave you to walk off somewhere else and distract herself with a task, you’d follow. You never gave her a moments rest, always keeping the beloved Countess on her toes. She was strong though, the new Vesuvia she made was beautiful, you hated not being a part of it. 

As much as Julian lacked sleep before, you made it even harder for him now, every time he slept, he remembered you, he cried for you, even yearned for you but he knew better than to get too caught up. You weren’t the same, and he wasn’t going to try and love the new you. He deserved better than that, so he fought. He drowned himself in coffee to avoid thinking about you, running himself into the ground to escape you. Hyperactive, because if even for a second he relaxed, he’d fall asleep and be tormented by your memory. 

Muriel, well, he was tricky to get to. He didn’t give you any attention, you knew he could sense you there, watching, but he was good at hiding from his feelings. That is until you started to manifest physically in his presence for a reaction. Using your magic to create doppelgangers of yourself. Hard to ignore seeing the person that saved you from you demons sitting at the foot of your bed at night, looking like how you did in life. He broke down at that, but you didn’t let up. You chased him, always showing up just out of the corner of his sight. You got your reaction, and now the Devil inside craved more. 

It was hard for Portia to get back to normal. She missed you, and you missed her too. She was like a warm ray of sunshine after the coldest winter, refreshing. She thought about you constantly, brought you up in conversations, but when she started to notice those around her hated your name being spoken, she stopped. A part of you broke, you thought at least you’d have someone in your corner, even if she was the most afraid of you. Portia bringing up your memory was only a way for her to avoid and ignore the crippling fear she felt thinking about the new you... the better you. She left Vesuvia for a spell another way to hide from the current you, but you still found her. She visited the other princesses of Prakra and you followed. Like a storm on the horizon, ever present doom followed poor Portia. “You can’t forget me” you’d whisper to her. 

Now Lucio, he was back to his old ways. Throwing parties and drinking to ignore his pain. He wasn’t Count anymore but he still held a bit of status. You envied him. You wanted to ruin him. You pursued him constantly, scaring him, keeping him in a constant state of fear. Every time he was too drunk to stand properly, you’d lure him to his old ashen wing of the palace, and their you’d lurk. An ever-constant reminder of his failures and treachery. You reveled in the power. You felt strong. 

No. You felt weak. They still weren’t here! They were free! Living their lives, not stuck, trapped bound to the Devil. Watching enviously from the sidelines. You hated this new form. 

Actually, no. You loved this new form, truly. You’ll bring them back eventually. They won’t ever leave again. It was time to stop fighting. To let the Devil have his way. You may be stuck in this realm but that doesn’t mean they can’t be here stuck with you, you thought. A devilish grin cracked across your face; your crimson eyes glowed. 

For this to work you’ll have to back off for a few years. Allow them to live in peace, and think all of this is of the past. What a rude awakening they’ll have coming for them. For the next years you’ll be growing stronger, preserving your strength for the night you’ll drag the back home to hell. 

20 years passed, though it felt like no more than a few months for you, you looked the same of course. You took a little peak at them, they couldn’t feel you, this time. You watched them fall in love, grow, heal. Even with all of these changes they were still the same as always. Asra, so outgoing, holding everybody together. Nadia, strong and elegant. Julian, smart as ever, and still so funny. Muriel, quiet but ever kind and gentle. Portia, happy and mischievous, and fun-loving. Lucio, charming and transparent, and still a heavy drinker. You loved it. You loved seeing them like this, thinking they were safe and free, all the better for when you destroy them. 

It happened one night. They all slept soundly, safe and cozy in their beds. Except they woke up in the Devil’s realm. Right at your feet, the throne room was unrecognizable. You had destroyed it after they left the last time you saw them decades ago. Burning it to the ground with your thoughts alone. 

“Rise and shine my pretties.” You hissed, such glee dancing in your crimson eyes. Muriel was the first to wake, just a split second before the rest. You laughed hysterically as they realized their new circumstances. They were trapped. All of you together forever in the throne room of the Devil’s realm. You couldn’t control yourself, your laughs coming out in bursts and wheezes, they could hear the true Devil’s voice laced behind your own. 

“Y/N... What have you done?” Asra asks, sounding so pathetic. Your old friends all cowered close together, trembling with fear, utterly confused. 

“Oh Asra, you don’t look so good. I thought you’d age better than this.” You sneered, it was a lie though, of course he was still beautiful and full of life. “If you haven’t all figured it out yet, you’re going to be spending the rest of your days here with me.” You grinned, the smile was unnaturally wide on your face, a wicked grin. Silence ensued but you could hear their hearts races, the sound alone made you tremble, aroused by their fear. 

“Don’t all cheer at once, I know how happy you all must be, right?” You joked, snorting out another short laugh before continuing. “So, get as comfortable as you can get here, it’ll be a while.” 

“Whatever do you think to accomplish with all of this, Devil?” Nadia spoke, her voice projecting throughout the room. You rolled your eyes dramatically. 

“First of all, you know my name Nadia, dear. Secondly, I’ve missed you all, haunting you for those first few months was getting so boring.” You whined, “I need the real you here, with me, to make up for lost time!” You were still suspended a few feet off of the ground by the rope they bound you with, you tried to wiggle free. “So as you can see, I’m still bound to this hell and couldn’t come visit.” 

“...That never stopped you from showing yourself.” Muriel spoke in a hush tone, making a point to avoid your fiery gaze. 

“Well, love, if you weren’t being so proactive in ignoring me, I wouldn’t have to have worked myself up, stretching my magic all the way to you like that. Don’t blame me.” You stared at him intensely, watching him shrink in on himself as much as he could. Even as Asra spoke you still were persistent in staring at the gentle giant, seeing the fear settle deep into his bones brought you happiness, you waited so long to see him in person again. 

“This isn’t you Y/N! Let us go!” Asra shouted, rushing over to Muriel’s side to hold him. 

“I know this isn’t me Asra, isn’t that what I was trying to convince you all of 20 years ago? Hm? Was it not!?” You shouted, fine cracks stretching up the walls. “I begged you all to let me go, I begged for you to see past this hideous form and to the real me! So, if I’m stuck here forever, you all will be too! This is your fault.” You struggled against your ropes, but they only tightened. 

“Ugh honestly! What did you do to me? These ropes are really starting to work my nerves.” You carried on as if this were just normal conversation, before Julian finally spoke. 

“We’ll be here f-forever?” He asked, stuttering his words. 

“Yes, beloved, forever. I won’t harm you all, I love you too much. Though, you all should really consider setting me free so that it can truly feel like old times.” You cooed. 

“IT CAN’T BE LIKE OLD TIMES!” Lucio shrieked, shoving a golden clawed finger in your direction. He had the nerve to talk to you like that, after all he's done. 

“How dare you speak! How dare you speak like that to me!” You voice made the entire temple vibrate, threatening a collapse. The rest of the group shrunk back; Portia started to cry. 

You sighed, the magic you expelled was taking a toll on your patience. “Don’t cry Portia, I’m sorry for Lucio’s foul behavior, you know how he gets.” You tried to sound as sincere as you could, but something in you wanted to laugh in their faces again. 

The face she makes in response tells you all you need to know. Talk won’t help. “Okay, okay! I’m only kidding. But I assure you, I’m still me, I’m just a little bitter for the last two decades in solitude. You all moved on and fell in love. While I’m here alone watching from the sidelines.” Your head hung low, the anger your felt years ago was back at a boiling point. Honestly, you had to spell it out for them again? 

“Lucio caused this whole mess but even he’s free, I saved the world and I’m here. That hardly seems fair. But, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you set me free from these ropes and move on with you all!” You give them a winning grin, and wiggle your fingertips and feet. That’s all the movement you can manage given your circumstances. 

You give your word that won’t harm them and you remind them that you can’t lie as an Arcana. Over time, you promise them more freedoms, things do start to become a new normal. Not long after that, do they forget their days of freedom, they forget why you’re even tied up to begin with. You’re free. Free with your friends, whom you’ve granted immortality to, so long as they’re in the Arcana realms. 

You’re all together again, forever. Forever together.


End file.
